@Bobo, thanks for clarifying that you were not putting false information out there. Leupold will withstand greater than what the fasteners on the rings I use, so it doesn't come into play. Leupold scope tube is stated to withstand 28" lbs, Warne Rings/Fasteners max at 25" lbs.

98% of big game is killed at 300 yds or less. I couldn't care less what scope someone hunts with, but it's always interesting that the sheer mention of the word "Leupold" sends people into convulsions, fits of rage, and miscellaneous emotional outbursts.

Late to the party. Not a dang thing wrong with that scope Scott. It's the OG of Leupold. Only thing it's pre-Zero-Stop. The Marines made it do for many years, no reason it won't work great for you. What are you putting it on? Pictures when done.

Dang, that guy gave it a lickin and it kept on tickin.

I think my VX6HD 3-18 is the perfect scope for my 30-06. It does exactly what I need. I am very happy with it. However, I have tasted the Nightforce koolaid with a 1-8 NX8 on my AR for the past 5 years. That being said it will be Nightforce on my next rifle. Especially since my next rifle project will probably be a long range poker.

It’s on my Tikka CTR. @ 21 ounces, I like the weight, power range and size.

I keep it simple; if not a Leupold, than a Burris. And, vise versa.

I am amazed at the number of folks needing a scope they can dial.
Never used one and my B&C reticle had served me well for 36 years now, Leupold has not failed us yet.

And yes we hunt wide open country that you could shoot for a long ways but why, get closer.

The long range guys need a scope they can dial, and that logic has a lot of hunters thinking they need the same thing. And, of course, those hunters now need to shoot a critter at long range because they have a long range scope. I bought a couple of dial scopes, and they worked fine, but it wasn’t something I needed for the hunting I was doing. I did eventually buy a Leupold VX5 3-15, but only need to dial the turret on rare occasions.

For most hunters, and shots inside 300 yards, the only dialing needed is to dial your hunting buddies to tell them the buck you just got is bigger than theirs.

That said, there are plenty of folks that actually do want or need those long range scopes. But not me. If I really did need one, I’d buy one.

Actually, I don’t care so much about dialing. I like having a milliradian reticle in case I need a hold over on a longer shot. It’s handy having a ruler you can use for any cartridge and any load. It takes away the guesswork on how high you need to hold at distance.

I do agree with getting closer. I just like having a more precise reference for aiming if that isn’t possible.

I may want someone to school me on this milliradian reticle to help with holdover as opposed to estimating off body size, or dialing.

I have both, but mostly dial using the CDS (custom dial) from Leupold. If it's far enough that I need to dial, I have time to range with my range finding bino's (Sig Kilo's) and then spin the dial to the yardage marked on the dial. I've hit coyotes at 550, 330 and 370 in the last year or so this way and several pigs. Not to mention all the other stuff over the last 8 years with my first Leupold set up with a CDS. I'm not saying one method is better than the other, but for me after doing it this way forever, successfully, hard to make the change. There is an appeal to eliminating one step in my process, and that would be to range, then hold, skipping the dialing. Damn, just like that I may be in the market for one as well.

I used to be a Leupold guy, never and issue. But, they have priced themselves out of my range and i've moved on to others. Burris gets my money these days over most others.

For less money, although a bit more weight. I'd be getting a Burris Veracity PH 3-15x. It's actually in my cart as my next scope purchase when my bank account agrees with my spending.

I generally just run a ballistic calculator for a load with different zero ranges to get the Mils at certain distances to align.

Below is an example of a typical 308 150 grain load. I went with 150 yard zero because I’m trying to get the drop to line up in .5 mil increments since that is how typical MIL reticles are set up. It shows drop in inches, MOA and MiL.




Below is the TMR reticle I bought. Hashes are .5 Mils.




If a animal was 350 yards away, instead of trying to figure out what 18 1/2” hold looks like on a particular animal, you just use the third hash mark down. For 400, it would be the 4th hash or 2 Mils since every hash is .5 mils.


If you have a 2nd focal plane scope, you just need to make sure you are at max power when holding.


If you have a 1st focal plane scope, the reticle works at any power.

After going to the other side of the planet, hunting hard for a week and finally getting that one shot on an animal, the last thing I want to do is monkey around with the turrets on my scope right before squeezing the trigger.

I prefer a clean reticle for hunting. Keep that junk out of your field of view. It may cover up an even bigger animal next to the one your look at; or conceal its movement just enough to loose them.
Save that stuff for sniper or precision shooting.

Yeah. There might be a giant animal hiding behind a tiny hashmark or a dot. Freakin hilarious.

Scott, thanks for the good explanation of the milliradian. Maybe someday but Im afraid it would be too much for me in the heat of the moment.

No problem. I generally just put a piece of tape on my scope cap or stock with the holdovers from 250 to 400 yard in 50 yard intervals. I’m almost always shooting game inside 200 yards but I like being prepared.

This is as difficult as going down a tape measure to the half inch mark. Or the one inch mark, or the 17 5/8" mark.

200 .5
300 1.0
400 1.9

"Junk out of your field of view". That's comical!

That’s right; I forgot. Many folks out here have never hunted the Rocky Mountains or the Sierra Nevada mountain ranges. Cage hunt’in Flatlanders. My bad. Now, that’s hilarious

I know you guys are kidding him but he does have a point. Some reticles read like a NYC road map. They make a lot of sense in long range shooting but when the light/contrast gets low they really do clutter up the view. Same thing if the reticle lights up for after dark shooting. Too much and too bright a reticle starts to block the view of the game.... especially picking out the best hog. Personally I have found that the ideal reticle for helping hogs into the freezer is not the best reticle for shooting at distance. No doubt the best varies by person but I avoid cluttered reticles for hunting.

I've hunted in the Rockies.

I killed a bull elk on public land. I was using a Mil based scope. He was 250 yards away and broad side. I held .5 Mil on his lungs and put him down in one shot.

Reticles are on or near .04 Mil thick. That's not going to prevent a hunter from not being able to see even white tail vitals at 500 yards. If we call that an 8" diameter circle, at 500 yards those vitals are .44 Mils in size. The vitals are 11 times larger than the reticle that is over them.

I’m not talking about taking down the largest game animal in N. America; standing still while it’s broadside. You’ve seen a Whitetail in the Rockies? Had to be a rare sight there. I continue to spot, even while I shoulder my rifle (if given the time) You probably just jumped out of the truck too. Your skill and knowledge is beyond me comprehension. Hats off to ya!

Yes I’ve seen and killed whitetails in the Rockies. There are Whitetails in RMNP. I normally hunt 20 plus days a year in the Rockies. This year I have 25 on the books.

Reticle is always a personal preference, just as zero/sight
-in/MPBR yardage etc. I hate a tree, but like windage holds. Most have too much adjustment/hashes for me, but simple vertical and wind are very usable. I’ve never had a reticle obstruction though